PREAMBLE
Let’s go for it, shall we? The 2024 White Sox need some talent, they need some luck, but ultimately they need major league ready players to give themselves some organizational depth.
ARBITRATION-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS
Write “tender,” “non-tender” or “rework/extend” after each player and their projected 2024 salaries. Feel free to offer explanation afterward if necessary.
- Dylan Cease: $8.8M TENDER
- Andrew Vaughn: $3.7M TENDER
- Michael Kopech: $3.6M TENDER
- Touki Toussaint: $1.7M (non-tender but rework for minors if he wants)
- Trayce Thompson: $1.7M non-tender
- Garrett Crochet: $900K TENDER
- Clint Frazier: $900K non-tender
- Matt Foster: $740K (non-tender but rework for minors if he wants)
CLUB OPTIONS
Write “pick up” or “decline” or “rework” after the option.
- Tim Anderson: $14M ($1M buyout) rework 1 year $7 Million
- Liam Hendriks: $15M ($15M buyout, paid $1.5M annually over next 10 years) Likely a buyout, but also rework to keep him under insurance for at least 2024, same cost to the team annually but with his health concerns they should extend him insurance
MUTUAL OPTIONS
Write “exercised” or “takes buyout.”
- Mike Clevinger: $12M mutual option ($4 million buyout) Exercised, I don’t think Clevinger is going to take a chance at the market
OTHER IMPENDING FREE AGENTS
Try to retain, extend qualifying offer, or let go?
- Yasmani Grandal (Made $18.25M in 2023) Let go
- Elvis Andrus ($3M) Let Go
- Bryan Shaw ($720K) Let Go
- José Ureña ($720K) Let go, would be nice to get him back on a MILB deal
FREE AGENTS
List three free-agent targets you’d pursue during the offseason, with a reasonable contract. A good example of a bad idea:
Well….. I have 9! I know this breaks the rules, but I don’t see how this team only has 3 free agents anyway. For my free agents I used spotrac estimate with some slight tweaks but the sum still was pretty much a wash for guys who took more/less
3B - Matt Chapman. 3 Years, $57 million - The White Sox get a gold glove 3B with a good if not sometimes great bat. This is as good as time as ever to announce my plans to move Yoan Moncada back to 2nd Base.
C - Victor Caratini - 1 Year, $3,000,000 - Caratini brings a well rounded, experienced catcher to the mix. He’s a low risk add and will almost assuredly outperform any catcher they had in 2023.
RF - Adam Duvall - 1 Year, $6,000,000 with a team option for 2025 - Duvall brings very good corner outfield defense to a group that struggled mightily in that regard in 2023. Paired with Luis Robert and Andrew Benintendi (who I expect to rebound in 2024) and you could have one of the better outfield defenses around.
RF/2B - Adam Frazier - 1 Year, $8,000,000 - Frazier gives the White Sox the positional flexibility they need in Right Field and Second Base. This coupled with Moncada’s ability to play 3B gives them major league quality back ups at every position other than Short Stop and Center Field. With Colson Montgomery/Lenyn Sosa/Romy Gonzalez in the mix at Short Stop, I am much more comfortable there than maybe I should be. And let’s face it, for this team to go, no one can replace Luis Robert in CF.
Now…. On to the pitching staff….
Sp - Lucas Giolito 2 Years, $18,000,000 - I guess not all White Sox players get better when they leave… I think there will be people debating if this is fair market value both ways, which makes me think it likely is fair.
SP - Hyun-Jin Ryu - 1 Year, $8,000,000 - Ryu probably didn’t do quite enough to earn much more than a one year deal in 2023, but he gives the sox an experienced, likely steady arm in the rotation.
RP - Emelio Pagan - 1 Year, $4,000,000 - I’d like to see the Sox add a good but not overly expensive reliever with some closing experience to the mix of pensman. Pagan has had enough experience in that role for me to back up Gregory Santos in 2024.
RP - Jakob Junis - 1 Year, $5,500,000 - Junis isn’t spectacular, but with the lack of Major League ready starting pitching in the system, he gives them exactly what they need. I would like to see him primarily used to piggy back with Michael Kopech in 2024 to start the season. The Brian Bannister connection is real, see next add.
RP - John Brebbia - 1 year, $3,000,000 - Brian Bannister. Solid. In the Budget. Brebbia is a good reliever and comes at a low enough cost.
TRADES - None. Not in the off season at least.
SUMMARY
My 2024 payroll roster is linked here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1ez-pxEyXPeVMEAaYYhhAb7DOoMDcpmZ48yPEaAMg35w/edit?usp=sharing
Gavin Sheets/Lenyn Sosa can both be switched with Oscar Colas for the 26th spot. I wouldn’t have Gavin Sheets in the system if they had anymore outfielders with minor league options who had a pulse. Nothing should be that shocking, Jesse Scholtens in AAA gives them a “good enough” shuttle option as the shuttle starter to pair with Junis to make spot starts.
I do think this team is good enough to win in 2024 without blasting through the budget. You will need Cease to be elite again, Clevinger to be as good as he was in 2023, Giolito to just bounce back to 2023 White Sox Giolito, Ryu to stay healthy, and Kopech to be treated like a number 5 starting pitcher.
If you can get 4 of the 5 of those to happen, coupled with Tim Anderson being just an average short stop and this team could be a problem. The problem with the team is they’re still going to be managed by Pedro Grifol. I think he alone should get us all to temper our expectations for this team, but hey, if we’re already wet might as well go swimming.
